#129: You are not alone

On being part of something mighty

Mōrena, and happy Tuesday! 

In my past life working at various corporates, ‘caring’ about the environment felt lonely. In my previous little tech work bubble, nothing felt like it was moving in the right direction… often it felt actively like the wrong direction. It was only when I made the move into the environmental space that saw beyond the echo chamber of ‘business as usual’.  There is an army of people out there who don’t just care a little bit about climate - they are moving heaven and earth to make meaningful change.  

Take my current pile of essay marking (it’s marking season for academics). Centred around climate mitigation/emissions reduction, they discuss everything from grassroots community projects to regional policy initiatives. They talk about zero-waste, coastal management, wind farms, forestry management, and carbon-neutral building. Above all, they discuss how action is happening! There are an astounding number of human beings who are working in every conceivable way to actively combat climate change.

The scale of the challenge we face is terrifying, but solutions are emerging everywhere that you look. Though headlines often focus on large-scale international negotiations (which we also need), they fail to capture how local efforts frequently lead the charge. It’s so often local communities who insist upon tangible, positive change in their own corners of the world.

If you’re stuck in a lonely place, where it feels like everything can only get worse, try to remember that there are so many people out there who care deeply and are pushing hard for change. You are part of something mighty!

What can we do today?

The most-clicked link from last week’s issue was our Submission guide on the Emissions Reduction Plan. They’ve extended the deadline so look below if you haven’t submitted yet!

🐝 5 minutes: Eating plastic, not fantastic

• 98% of single-use plastics are made from fossil fuels, accounting for 12% of global oil consumption. Fossil fuel companies profit from producing these plastics; the top 7 plastic producing companies in the world are all fossil fuel companies. Emissions aside, the waste and health impacts of plastic are devastating.

  Action: Join 140,000 New Zealanders on the petition to ban unnecessary single-use plastic bottles

• Our very own Lou from Climate Club has written her own petition! She was in the supermarket and felt so frustrated that our food products have to have nutritional information on them, but not environmental labelling. Would people make different choices if they knew the emissions of different foods? It’s easier to make good decisions with good information.
  Action: Sign to call for environmental labels on food products

🐇 15 minutes: Give this a second thought

• Submissions close super soon for New Zealand’s second Emissions Reduction plan, which experts say “ignores decades of advice, places too much faith in technology that does not exist and will result in higher emissions” (RNZ). The deadline for feedback has been extended, which suggests that they really do want our feedback. Specific, constructive suggestions could have a real impact on this government’s climate plans.

  Action, due Sunday 11:59pm (extended): Submit on the second ERP using one of the following guides.

• 🐝 5 mins:

  • Climate Club’s fast submission guide (general, broad topics)

  • Don’t Subsidise Pollution’s quick guide (focussing on ending free carbon credits for big polluters)

  • Rewiring Aotearoa’s quick email submission (energy systems & electrification)

• 🐇15 mins: Pick one of the submission guides above, but personalise it - this makes it much more effective.

• 💃🏽Bonus 30 mins: Gather submissions in your community with this guide.

💃🏽 30+ minutes: Stick it to the SUVs

• Ōtautahi/Christchurch, 11am today:. We acknowledge that there aren’t always alternatives to flying on our island nation; but on the other hand, a surprising chunk of the general public don’t think about emissions when flying at all, so we think it’s valuable to raise awareness - especially as consumers who can signal to airlines that we do care about their climate progress.
  Action: Come along for an hour to the airport action

• The team at End Urban SUVs send out stickers you can put on any especially large, high-emitting vehicles within cities. It sends them to the NZ government website showing their emissions levels. Make sure you read the “Things to avoid” section to avoid penalising people who don’t have other options.
  Action: Order your stickers at the End Urban SUVs website and get sticking!

Upcoming workshops

Climate Club runs interactive workshops for your friends, team, or organisation! We’ve got two coming up this next week.  

• Wellington/Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Tue 27 Aug, 2pm - 5pm, at 2/57 Willis Street, CBD: register here

• Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau, Mon 16 Sep, 4pm - 7pm at Tower Insurance, Level 5/136 Fanshawe St, CBD: register here

Wins!

• Auckland’s transport network is looking better than ever - now we just need to let people know! Check out the 40 routes now included in the city’s Frequent Transit Network. 

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That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action. Enjoy this timely bit of advice from Help me Hera about having climate conversations with our nearest and dearest. 

See you next week, 

Cathy & the Climate Club team

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